Merry Christmas to us

Christmas morning. Headed for church. Invisible patch of black ice. Ricocheted all around the road as Don tried to regain control. Spun 180 degrees and introduced the car to the embankment.

We emerged from the car, shaky and bruised but otherwise unhurt. Looks like we're in the market for another car (this was the car we purchased six years ago from Union Gospel Motors in Spokane). Astonishingly, the vehicle still drove. The very kind sheriff's deputy who assisted us followed us almost all the way home to make sure we made it.

We gathered up all the vehicle debris and stuffed it in the back of the car so it wouldn't litter the roadside.

Comically, on the way home, the car notified us that the washer fluid was low.

That's because the container had been punctured in the accident.

We hit the embankment so hard, pine needles and a pine cone got embedded between the tire and the wheel.

And my Bible got a bit battered.

So, while we never did make it to church, we returned home beyond grateful for our Christmas blessings. Wear your seat belts, folks. They save lives.

Oof. This just hurts to look at

I have a feeling someone lost his job.

Baltimore bridge collapse

We've been following the terrible bridge collapse in Baltimore.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, it looks like the entire eastern seaboard might be impacted. Snippets from this article:

"The current issue revolves around an emerging disruption in mid-Atlantic supply chains. The major East Coast port is now paralyzed due to the mangled bridge blocking the only shipping lane in and out of the harbor. ... The supply chain snarls have sent major logistics companies scrambling across the US East Coast on Tuesday afternoon. ... Baltimore is the most inland port on the East Coast and is connected to the I-95 highway network. With no commercial vessels sailing in and out of port anytime soon, this is catastrophic for port operations and could spark supply chain snarls in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. We suspect inbound vessels are rerouting sails this morning. The bridge collapse has severed these major marine terminals. It's unknown when operations will be restored."

Coal: "Earlier, Consol Energy shares plunged nearly 10%, the most since October, as the bridge collapse will affect its massive coal terminal, which is served by CSX trains."

Sugar: "A major sugar refinery owned by American Sugar Refining Inc. warned its Domino Sugar refinery only has six to eight weeks of raw sugar supplies as the blockage affects ships moving in and out of the port."

Hazardous materials: "One very big logistical complication in the Baltimore bridge collapse is that the Francis Scott Key Bridge was the main route for hazardous materials (which aren't allowed to be transported through the tunnels)."

For those living in the area, let us know what's going on!

A big, fatal OOPS

This is our pasture fence.

It follows the dirt road leading to our house.

Originally this fence was just a triple strand of barbed wire, which (we learned) was pretty useless to keep cows in. Later we reinforced it with sticks, which helped a great deal; but still, calves could slip through. So later, after salvaging some field fence, we reinforced the fence line and made it cow-tight.

On Tuesday afternoon Don and I took Lydia for a walk down the dirt road, following the fence line. After we got home, I jumped into the shower. When I emerged fifteen minutes later, Don said, "We have a dead deer in the pasture."

What? But we just walked past the pasture. It was empty.

It seems a lot happened in the fifteen minutes it took me to wash my hair. A neighbor called in tears. She was driving down the road in broad daylight (average speed on our road is about 10 mph) when a deer in our pasture decided to bolt in front of her. (This is a common habit with deer. I have no idea why they do it.) But it never made it to the road. Apparently it didn't see the fence at all -- despite the sticks and T-posts -- and crashed full-speed into it, bounced off, and lay struggling on the ground with a broken neck.

When the neighbor called, Don grabbed a firearm, jumped in the car, and raced over to put the poor animal out of its misery. Before he got there, however, the deer expired. So he came home. All this happened while I was in the shower.

I saw the deer the next morning, lying there with a pitifully twisted neck. By this point no one was inclined to harvest it for meat; so later in the afternoon, while I was in the city doing errands, Don took the tractor, chained up the deer, transported it to a remote spot, and left it for scavengers. We didn't want to leave it in our pasture lest it attract predators.

By the time I got back from the city (fully intending to take pictures of the animal), the only thing left were some bloodstained tufts of fur.

(Maybe it was a good thing I didn't get pictures.)

The damage to the fence is grimly impressive. It's hard to see in this photo, but there's an enormous bulge.

Here Lydia's sniffing at the ground in front of the fence. You can see the bulge a little better, in front of her.

The impact snapped the sticks in multiple places.

Why deer bolt in front of vehicles is anyone's guess. I suppose it was concentrating on crossing the road and simply didn't see the fence in its way. At any rate, it was a big, fatal OOPS -- but at least it was a quick death.

Sad.

Awww (sniff)

This photo of a young couple reuniting in the hospital after a horrific car crash is understandably going viral.

Here's the story. I'm glad they're all right.

Ouch

Make a note: bare feet and immovable objects do not mix.

My little toe is either broken or badly sprained as of last night. Fortunately my shoe tends to act like a cast and keeps it fairly immobile.

I'm walking, even if I'm limping a bit.

I suppose it beats a broken foot or ankle....

"We don't know yet."

See UPDATE and ADDITIONAL UPDATE below.

The girls and I came home late this afternoon from our weekly jaunt into Spokane for Younger Daughter's music lesson.  Nearly at the point where we turn off to get to our house, we came upon the scene of an accident.

We saw one truck rolled on its side, but in the chaos of trying to inch past the emergency vehicles, not much else registered.  (Older Daughter was trying to get pictures but we went by before she got the hang of the camera.)

Then a couple hours later when I got a choked call from our neighbor, Maid Elizabeth.  "Please pray for Zach," she said.  "He's down at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow (Idaho)."  All she knew was that he was in a car accident.

No, I don't know if it was the same accident I saw.  Probably not.  But the coincidence was rattling.

Zach "Smith" is 18 years old and as nice a young man as you'll ever meet.  The whole "Smith" family is one of those close-knit, truly decent families that you seldom find nowadays.  I have no doubt that Zach's accident was truly an accident, not a result of wild or irresponsible driving on his part because he's not a wild or irresponsible kind of fellow.

As of this writing, we don't know his condition or prognosis.  But it hurts to think of this giant (6'4") sturdy young man facing unknown injuries down at Gritman.

Please say a prayer for his recovery.  I'll post updates as I get them.
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UPDATE: I didn't sleep well last night, worrying about Zach.  So early this morning I emailed a mutual friend to see if she knew Zach's status.  She replied right away:

Zach came home last night.  He hit a moose and tore the top of his car off and left the car in pieces.  His right shoulder and arm are bothering him, but x-rays showed no broken bones.  He is very bruised and swollen, but in reality, walked away.  Only by the grace of God!

Thank the good Lord above!  And thank you all for your prayers.  God is good.
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ADDITIONAL UPDATE: I spoke to Zach's grandmother this morning.  Apparently the accident was worse than we thought.  The moose shattered the windshield (Zach still has glass in his eyes) and peeled off the roof of the car.  Because of Zach's height, he got thiiiis close to being decapitated.  Any animal big enough to take the roof off a car is big enough to take a head off of shoulders.

Zach was sleeping when I called, and his grandmother sounded pretty shaken.  This family's strong faith is upholding them.

Near-misses are frightening things.  And no, the moose didn't make it.